The song “Lladres” by the Valencian band Al Tall, explains the results of the Battle of Almansa, fought on the 25th of April, 1707, during the War of Spanish Succession. This battle was won by Castile and lost by the Valencian-Catalan-Aragonese forces, and meant the beginning of the Spanish invasion of the Valencian Country.
For this reason, April 25th is commemorated in the Valencian Country as a national day. Even after the defeat in 1707 and 1939 and all the impositions and persecutions, the Valencian people and language still live and resist.
Here are the lyrics in Valencian/Catalan and my translation to English:
Lladres que entreu per Almansa
Thieves who come in through Almansa
no sou lladres de saqueig,
you are not plundering thieves,
que ens poseu la cova en casa
you place your den in our home
i des d'ella governeu.
and from there you govern us.
Governeu de lladrocini
You govern in a thieve’s way
i rapinyeu governant;
And prey governing
sou fartons de vida llarga
You are gluttons with a long life
que mai voleu acabar.
that you never want to end.
El nostre plat cada dia
Our everyday meal
ens el torneu a llevar;
again you take away from us;
l'aparteu amb elegància
you push it aside with elegance
com si no tinguérem fam.
as if we were not hungry.
I amb rabosera elegància
And with astute elegance
ens heu forçat a oblidar
you have forced us to forget
que si sentim buit el ventre
that if we feel our stomachs empty
és per manca de menjar.
it’s for lack of food.
No s'ensenya en les escoles
It is not taught in schools
com van esclafar un país,
how they crushed a country
perquè d'aquella sembrada
because from that sowing
continuen collint fruits.
they still harvest the fruits.
Hi ha un licor en la resina
there’s a liquor in the resin
dels antics oliverars
of the ancient olive trees
que fa tendra la memòria
that softens the memory
i aclareix la veritat.
and clarifies the truth.
Lladres que entreu per Almansa
Thieves who come in through Almansa
no sou lladres de saqueig,
you are not plundering thieves,
que ens poseu la cova en casa
you place your den in our home
i des d'ella governeu.
and from there you govern us.